THE GREEK DEFEAT 241
gone. Between them was the broad sea. One bridge
across remained and that was formed by the area from
the Bosphorus through Constantinople to the Dardanelles.
This was the neutral zone, and the bridge was held by
the Allies.
Of this bridge the key-point was Chanak. It was
the door to Adrianople, and its possession outflanked
and threatened the communications both by land and
sea of the small Allied force that held Constantinople.
The Turks, somewhat taken aback at their own success
and at the extraordinary disappearance of the Greeks,
began to form up and concentrate towards the Allied
neutral zone. General Harington, seeing the danger,
organized a mobile force of all the Allies and hoped
with this and a show of Allied flags on the neutral
frontier to keep back the Turks.
With instinctive good strategy the Turks came hurrying
along, looking for their enemy before he could reform
and reorganize. They hoped to catch him still moving
and chase him down to Athens.
Reports showed that the second Turkish Army of
40,000 men was moving on to Chanak. The French
and Italians began to grow nervous. On the aand of
September they removed their flags from the frontier
and retired their forces. That culminating act of stupid-
ity was due to the politicians in Paris and Rome. The
commanders on the spot, both as honourable men and
soldiers, had no part in it. France and Italy paid in
humiliation a heavy price for their folly.
Alone the British stood facing the storm. Encouraged
by the rift in the Entente, and by French observers
R